1.1.2 Market Research

• Segmentation - separating the market into different segments based on their needs, wants, and characteristics.

  This can be via:

  • geographic (location)
  • demographic (age, gender, occupation, etc)
  • behavioural (loyalty status, benefits sought)
  • psychographic (personality, life styles, attitudes, class)
• Product Orientation - focus heavily on design, quality and performance rather than what the customer actually wants (mainly mass markets)
• Market/customer Orientation - focus heavily on selling products to match customer preferences (mainly niche markets)
• Market Research - the collection and analysis of market information

  • Primary market research : carrying out the market research first hand.
  • E.g. focus groups, surveys, questionnaires, customer feedback, etc
  • Benefits: reliable, up-to-date and tailored to your business
  • Drawbacks: expensive and time-consuming
  • Secondary market research : analysing information which already exists usually via the internet.
  • E.g. competitor data, reviews, census, reports, government data , etc
  • Benefits: easy to find, usually cheaper and less time-consuming
  • Drawbacks: may be outdated and not specific to your business
• Quantitative Data - data which is numerical or can be converted into numerical data

  • Benefits: easier to analyse, collect and is cheaper
  • Drawbacks: not as specific
• Qualitative Data - data which is based off thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

  • Benefits: more specific to customer needs
  • Drawbacks: harder to analyse, more time-consuming and expensive